Barely Functioning
by MissFaberrySuarez
Summary: Set before the curse was broken. Regina has recurrent nightmares involving one Emma Swan causing her to be sleep deprived, one day, the theme of her dream changes drastically and she is forced to seek help. Rated M in case I continue because there will definitely be smut.


**Barely Functioning by MissFaberrySuarez**

* * *

Her exposed skin glistened with a thin layer of sweat and her body writhed beneath the silky sheets. Every single muscle tensed and twitched and Regina clenched the fabric in her fists as a series of low groans escaped from her sore throat.

_Not again._

Desperate pleas echoed through her veins as she fought, but sadly, there was never enough strength in her to bring this to a halt.

Powerless, she watched as a pale hand swung across her face, leaving the agonizing sting of guilt panging through her cheek. Then, she felt it again. And again.

And _again._

Until her lungs sucked in the breath that she had been holding and her eyes peeled open, causing her to jolt awake and sit up as straight as she possibly could. Breathless and aching, Regina rested the back of her head against the chilly headboard and stared through the ceiling.

To say that she was tired from those dreadful nightmares would be an understatement. It was the second week in a row without as much as six hours of _actual_ sleep and the dark circles under her eyes were deepening by the minute. And whose fault was it?

_Emma fucking Swan_.

That damn blonde never ceased to creep her way into Regina's brain to ruin a perfectly good night of sleep. She was sick of it, absolutely sick. Her ability to focus on anything other than the inside of her eye lids had perished into oblivion, she had been forced to wear oversized sunglasses, had grown addicted to caffeine, had lost at least a third of her weight and had, by now, memorized every inch of Miss Swan's features.

She ran her fingers through silky dark hair and moistened her swollen lips. She had certainly chewed them in her sleep because she tasted a hint of blood. Her eyes darted to her alarm clock on the night stand and she let out a very audible grunt.

Five sixteen am. Well, there was no use to going back to sleep, so she quickly stripped from her silk pajamas and headed for the shower with nothing but the blonde woman's name ringing in her ears and golden locks swaying through her brain.

* * *

"Good morning, Madam Mayor." Emma half cheerfully greeted from her chair; tight jeans covered legs stretched until her feet rested atop of her desk and her teeth sank into a crimson apple.

"Feet off the table, Miss Swan." With high heels clacking through the floor, Regina swayed past her and stormed into her office, immediately dropping her bag onto her messy desk and sinking her face into it.

She was in a bitch of a mood and she had a dreadful council meeting in fifteen minutes. She figured she'd just shut her eyes for a few minutes, just to ease the burning that was eating away at her corneas but she was soon being dragged deep into her exhaustion and, before she knew it, she disappeared into her dreams. She was there again, Emma, like she always was. This time, instead of slapping Regina across the face, she'd actually slammed her against the wall and tried to suffocate her with her forearm. Regina tried to protest, she really did, but no voice were to ever come out from her throat.

"Madam Mayor?" It had been the first time Emma had actually spoken to her in a nightmare, and she was surprise to find that her voice actually soothed her, even whilst trying to kill her. "Madam Mayor?" She repeated and Regina felt her ease the pressure on her neck, only to slide a hand into her hair and gently roll her fingers through it. "Mayor…" If it were someone else instead of the Savior, Regina might have actually thought that Emma spoke with a hint of… _lust_. She watched as the blonde drew her body into hers, their knees and breasts touching, pressuring into each other.

"Miss Swan, what are you doing?" She finally managed to mutter and her voice came out low and hoarse, matching the sensation boiling at the pit of her stomach; she felt her pooling through her underwear. The blonde smirked and inched her face even closer, now melding their ragged breaths together. "What do you think I'm doing?"

Emma's tone almost made her crumble into a thousand pieces. "I-" Her words failed her again, only this time not by fear but by something entirely different. She lowered her eyes to meet soft pink lips and softly leaned closer, leaving them barely an inch apart until-

"Regina!" She wasn't sure if it had been Emma's shriek or hands shaking her violently that had jolted her awake.

"What?!" She lifted her head up from her bag and the first thing her eyes met were lovely green ones staring back at her and blonde. Blonde _everywhere_.

"You scared the hell out of me," Emma's voice smoothed considerably as relief washed over her previous panic look. "I thought you were dead or something."

Regina groaned and furrowed her eyebrows in confusion. "For what do you take me, Miss Swan? I am in perfectly good health, there are about zero chances that I will ever simply drop _dead._" Even half asleep, the Mayor always managed to be her oh so charming self.

Emma's eyes dropped to her hands as she took in the fact that they were still clinging to Regina. She cleared her throat and let go, taking a step back. "Fine. Next time, if you really are dead, I'll just let your body there to rotten."

Regina smirked, eyed the blonde and asked herself why her stomach wouldn't keep still. "We both know you're not capable of not succumbing into your emotions, so no, you wouldn't just leave me here to rotten."

"Who says I have any emotions concerning _you_?" She snapped, turned on her heels and rushed out of the Mayor's office to sink deep into her brown leather chair.

Regina's lips parted as she found herself at a loss for words. She was used to being the cold one, the bitch with no heart who would jump at any opportunity to insult others. She was definitely not used to being the one left speechless, and what exactly _was_ that panging feeling in her chest? She didn't like, not one bit.

So, she rose from her chair, adjusted her black pencil skirt and paced out of her office, staring intently at the blonde who had her eyes stuck to her computer screen.

She cleared her throat but got no response.

"Miss Swan." She tried, making an actual effort to call the other woman instead of simply throwing something at her for her to look up.

"Mh?"

She opened her mouth to speak, but then shut it, ran her tongue through her lips and parted them again. "I did not appreciate what you said."

"What did I say?"

For fuck's sake, she wondered whatever was on that screen that was more appealing than actually looking at her.

"Y-" She drew in a breath. "Would you look at me while I'm speaking, Miss Swan?"

The blonde shifted her eyes towards the Mayor, but quickly dropped them to meet the floor. "It's Emma."

Regina drew in a breath, ready to unleash whatever fiery rage she felt for that woman. Instead, she went back into her office, took her bag and rushed out of the building as quickly as she could.

She needed air. Or help. Or whatever that could prevent her from every having to dream with that woman ever again. She found that her breathing was still uneven and that her palms still sweated. She could not believe the dream she had, nor could she understand the reason behind it. She swore to herself that it would be the last time, she would no longer succumb to neither her nightmares, nor… whatever that dream was.

As she reached Dr. Hopper's building, she rushed to get to his office and violently knocked twice, still out of breath.

The door yanked open.

"Miss Mills." He widened his eyes in surprise.

"I'm desperate."


End file.
